Method and system for locating a centerline in a wall frame

ABSTRACT

The present invention is a computer method for calculating the centerline of frame member, comprising; receiving, an architectural drawing of a floor plan, identifying, each of the features of the floor plan, wherein the features are the walls and apertures, calculating, the true width of the walls, wherein the true width is that of the framing members of the wall, generating, a drawing of the centerline of all the features of the floor plan, and rendering, a drawing of the frame members of the floor plan.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part (and claims the benefit ofpriority under 35 USC 120) of U.S. provisional application No.62/2912684 filed Oct. 9, 2019, U.S. provisional application No.62/912692 filed Oct. 9, 2019. The disclosure of the prior applicationsis considered part of (and is incorporated by reference in) thedisclosure of this application.

BACKGROUND

This Disclosure relates generally to building construction and inparticular, to the method, computer program, or computer system forusing the centerline of a surface to develop the layout and features ofthe surface.

The study of architectural drawing has typically been done manually bythe user of the software. To study the architectural drawing and toidentify different elements in the drawings which are relevant to thesoftware. The user has to manually go through all the features of thearchitectural drawings and manually convert them to the 2D drawings or3D models. Architectural drawings typically show all the buildingfeatures which is required for the construction of the building. Itshows the different room locations, sizes of the room, arrangements ofdifferent rooms. It also shows the wall finishing material used for theexterior surface and interior surface. It is a tremendous and tediousprocess to convert this manually to the software format.

However, this process is necessary in any design or detailing software.The task of inputting the walls building per the architectural drawingis necessary to calculate accurate engineering design or drawingsreports. Manual method of the inputting of the layout of building hasdisadvantages like time-consuming task, lead to an error by incorrectinputs.

The present invention provides for a system and method to automaticallyconvert the content of the architectural drawings to the softwareformat, and also populate additional information and data from theconverting of the architectural drawings, that provides additionalbenefits and improvements over the previous methods to transfer thedata.

SUMMARY

In a first embodiment, a computer method for calculating the centerlineof frame member, comprising: receiving, by one or more processors, anarchitectural drawing of a floor plan; identifying, by one or moreprocessors, each of the features of the floor plan, wherein the featuresare the walls and apertures; calculating, by one or more processors, thetrue width of the walls, wherein the true width is that of the framingmembers of the wall; generating, by one or more processors, a drawing ofthe centerline of all the features of the floor plan; and rendering, byone or more processors, a drawing of the frame members of the floorplan.

In a second embodiment, a computer program product for locating thecenterline of a frame member, the computer program product comprising acomputer readable storage medium having program instructions embodiedtherewith, the program instructions executable by a computing device tocause the computing device to: program instructions to receive anarchitectural drawing of a floor plan; program instructions to identifyeach of the features of the floor plan, wherein the features are thewalls and apertures; program instructions to calculate the true width ofthe walls, wherein the true width is that of the framing members of thewall; program instructions to generate a drawing of the centerline ofall the features of the floor plan; and program instructions to render adrawing of the frame members of the floor plan.

In a third embodiment, a system comprising: a CPU, a computer readablememory and a computer readable storage medium associated with acomputing device; program instructions to receive an architecturaldrawing of a floor plan; program instructions to identify each of thefeatures of the floor plan, wherein the features are the walls andapertures; program instructions to calculate the true width of thewalls, wherein the true width is that of the framing members of thewall; program instructions to generate a drawing of the centerline ofall the features of the floor plan; and program instructions to render adrawing of the frame members of the floor plan.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numbers representcorresponding parts throughout:

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram depicting a computing environment, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram depicting the internal and externalcomponents of the server and computing device of FIG. 1, in accordancewith one embodiment of the present.

FIG. 3 depicts a cloud computing environment, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart of the operational steps of a method forcalculating and generating the sheathing requirements for theconstruction of a building within the computing environment of FIG. 1,in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 depict 2-Dimensional Architectural Floor Layouts for a building,in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6, depicts the centerline drawing created after referring thearchitectural drawings shown in FIG. 5, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7, depicts the 2-Dimensional Wall layout plan created in a designsoftware using the centerline drawing from FIG. 6, in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention provides a process of converting architecturaldrawing to a design or detailing software format through the use ofcenterlines of the walls which are included in the architecturaldrawings. Typically, with design or detailing software the task ofinputting walls into the building model based on the architecturaldrawing is necessary to calculate accurate engineering design or drawingreports. Manual method of the Input of the Layout of building hasdisadvantages like time-consuming task, lead to an error by incorrectinputs. The present invention provides a centerline approach to draw thecenterline of the walls of any building layout in the architecturaldrawings. This data is stored, and when the design or detailing softwareis to be implemented, the present invention is able to use thecenterline data to automatically generate the building or structurelayout to the design or detailing software format

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowcharts and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowcharts may represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions,which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing thespecified logical function(s). In some alternative implementations, thefunctions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in thefigures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, beexecuted substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes beexecuted in the reverse order, depending upon the functionalityinvolved. It will also be noted that each block of the flowchartillustrations, and combinations of blocks in the flowchartillustrations, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts or carry outcombinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

It is understood in advance that although this disclosure includes adetailed description on cloud computing, implementation of the teachingsrecited herein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather,embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented inconjunction with any other type of computing environment now known orlater developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g. networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as follows:

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provisioncomputing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, asneeded automatically without requiring human interaction with theservice's provider.

Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network andaccessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneousthin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to servemultiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physicaland virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according todemand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumergenerally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of theprovided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher levelof abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).

Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elasticallyprovisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out andrapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilitiesavailable for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can bepurchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimizeresource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level ofabstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can bemonitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both theprovider and consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure.The applications are accessible from various client devices through athin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail).The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloudinfrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage,or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exceptionof limited user-specific application configuration settings.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquiredapplications created using programming languages and tools supported bythe provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, orstorage, but has control over the deployed applications and possiblyapplication hosting environment configurations.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to theconsumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and otherfundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy andrun arbitrary software, which can include operating systems andapplications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as follows:

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for anorganization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party andmay exist on-premises or off-premises.

Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by severalorganizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns(e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and complianceconsiderations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third partyand may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the generalpublic or a large industry group and is owned by an organization sellingcloud services.

Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or moreclouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities butare bound together by standardized or proprietary technology thatenables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting forload-balancing between clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure comprising anetwork of interconnected nodes.

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of a computing environment 100 inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 providesan illustration of one embodiment and does not imply any limitationsregarding the environment in which different embodiments maybeimplemented.

In the depicted embodiment, computing environment 100 includes network102, computing device 104, and server 106. Computing environment 100 mayinclude additional servers, computers, or other devices not shown.

Network 102 may be a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN)such as the Internet, any combination thereof, or any combination ofconnections and protocols that can support communications betweencomputing device 104 and server 106 in accordance with embodiments ofthe invention. Network 102 may include wired, wireless, or fiber opticconnections.

Computing device 104 may be a management server, a web server, or anyother electronic device or computing system capable of processingprogram instructions and receiving and sending data. In otherembodiments, computing device 104 may be a laptop computer, tabletcomputer, netbook computer, personal computer (PC), a desktop computer,or any programmable electronic device capable of communicating withpatient computing device 104 via network 102. In other embodiments,computing device 104 may be a server computing system utilizing multiplecomputers as a server system, such as in a cloud computing environment.In one embodiment, computing device 104 represents a computing systemutilizing clustered computers and components to act as a single pool ofseamless resources. Computing device 104 may include components, asdepicted and described in further detail with respect to FIG. 1.

Server 106 may be a management server, a web server, or any otherelectronic device or computing system capable of processing programinstructions and receiving and sending data. In other embodiments server106 may be a laptop computer, tablet computer, netbook computer,personal computer (PC), a desktop computer, or any programmableelectronic device capable of communicating via network 102. In oneembodiment, server 106 may be a server computing system utilizingmultiple computers as a server system, such as in a cloud computingenvironment. In one embodiment, server 106 represents a computing systemutilizing clustered computers and components to act as a single pool ofseamless resources. In the depicted embodiment Centerline Program 108and database 110 are located on server 106. Server 106 may includecomponents, as depicted and described in further detail with respect toFIG. 1.

Centerline Program 108 has the unique feature of being able to identifythe centerline of a wall, surface, or structure of an architecturaldrawing, and generate a specific data format of these centerlines. Thisdata is able to be converted into a data type accepted by various designor detailing software, where the architectural drawing can beautomatically converted to the design or detailing software without theneed for manual entry of any information. The new file is a perfectreplica of the architectural drawing. In the depicted embodiment,Centerline Program 108 utilizes network 102 to access the computingdevice 104 and to communicate with database 110. In one embodiment,Centerline Program 108 resides on computing device 104. In otherembodiments, Centerline Program 108 may be located on another server orcomputing device, provided Centerline Program 108 has access to database110.

Database 110 may be a repository that may be written to and/or read byCenterline Program 108. Information gathered from computing device 104and the 1-dimensional, 2-dimensional, and 3-dimensional drawings andmodels as well as the requirements so that the materials and members areidentified as conflicting or non-conflicting. In one embodiment,database 110 is a database management system (DBMS) used to allow thedefinition, creation, querying, update, and administration of adatabase(s). In the depicted embodiment, database 110 resides oncomputing device 104. In other embodiments, database 110 resides onanother server, or another computing device, provided that database 110is accessible to Centerline Program 108.

FIG. 2, a schematic of an example of a cloud computing node is shown.Cloud computing node 10 is only one example of a suitable cloudcomputing node and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to thescope of use or functionality of embodiments of the invention describedherein. Regardless, cloud computing node 10 is capable of beingimplemented and/or performing any of the functionality set forthhereinabove.

In cloud computing node 10 there is a computer system/server 12, whichis operational with numerous other general purposes or special purposecomputing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-knowncomputing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may besuitable for use with computer system/server 12 include, but are notlimited to, personal computer systems, server computer systems, thinclients, thick clients, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessorsystems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmableconsumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputer systems, mainframecomputer systems, and distributed cloud computing environments thatinclude any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

Computer system/server 12 may be described in the general context ofcomputer system executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a computer system. Generally, program modules may includeroutines, programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and soon that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract datatypes. Computer system/server 12 may be practiced in distributed cloudcomputing environments where tasks are performed by remote processingdevices that are linked through a communications network. In adistributed cloud computing environment, program modules may be locatedin both local and remote computer system storage media including memorystorage devices.

FIG. 2, computer system/server 12 in cloud computing node 10 is shown inthe form of a general-purpose computing device. The components ofcomputer system/server 12 may include, but are not limited to, one ormore processors or processing units 16, a system memory 28, and a bus 18that couples various system components including system memory 28 toprocessor 16.

Bus 18 represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures,including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, anaccelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus using any of avariety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation,such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus,Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, VideoElectronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and PeripheralComponent Interconnects (PCI) bus.

Computer system/server 12 typically includes a variety of computersystem readable media. Such media may be any available media that isaccessible by computer system/server 12, and it includes both volatileand non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media.

System memory 28 can include computer system readable media in the formof volatile memory, such as random-access memory (RAM) 30 and/or cachememory 32. Computer system/server 12 may further include otherremovable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer system storagemedia. By way of example only, storage system 34 can be provided forreading from and writing to a nonremovable, non-volatile magnetic media(not shown and typically called a “hard drive”). Although not shown, amagnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable,non-volatile magnetic disk (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical diskdrive for reading from or writing to a removable, non-volatile opticaldisk such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other optical media can be provided.In such instances, each can be connected to bus 18 by one or more datamedia interfaces. As will be further depicted and described below,memory 28 may include at least one program product having a set (e.g.,at least one) of program modules that are configured to carry out thefunctions of embodiments of the invention.

Program/utility 40, having a set (at least one) of program modules 42,may be stored in memory 28 by way of example, and not limitation, aswell as an operating system, one or more application programs, otherprogram modules, and program data. Each of the operating system, one ormore application programs, other program modules, and program data orsome combination thereof, may include an implementation of a networkingenvironment. Program modules 42 generally carry out the functions and/ormethodologies of embodiments of the invention as described herein.

Computer system/server 12 may also communicate with one or more externaldevices 14 such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a display 24, etc.;one or more devices that enable a user to interact with computersystem/server 12; and/or any devices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.)that enable computer system/server 12 to communicate with one or moreother computing devices. Such communication can occur via Input/Output(I/O) interfaces 22. Still yet, computer system/server 12 cancommunicate with one or more networks such as a local area network(LAN), a general wide area network (WAN), and/or a public network (e.g.,the Internet) via network adapter 20. As depicted, network adapter 20communicates with the other components of computer system/server 12 viabus 18. It should be understood that although not shown, other hardwareand/or software components could be used in conjunction with computersystem/server 12. Examples, include, but are not limited to microcode,device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays,RAID systems, tape drives, and data archival storage systems, etc.

FIG. 3, illustrative cloud computing environment 50 is depicted. Asshown, cloud computing environment 50 comprises one or more cloudcomputing nodes 10 with which local computing devices used by cloudconsumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant (PDA) orcellular telephone 54A, desktop computer 54B, laptop computer 54C,and/or additional computer systems may communicate. Nodes 10 maycommunicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown) physicallyor virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private, Community,Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or a combinationthereof. This allows cloud computing environment 50 to offerinfrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which a cloudconsumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computingdevice. It is understood that the types of computing devices 54A-C shownin FIG. 2 are intended to be illustrative only and that computing nodes10 and cloud computing environment 50 can communicate with any type ofcomputerized device over any type of network and/or network addressableconnection (e.g., using a web browser).

Referring back to FIG. 2, the Program/utility 40 may include one or moreprogram modules 42 that generally carry out the functions and/ormethodologies of embodiments of the invention as described herein.Specifically, the program modules 42 may monitor real-time parkingfacility camera data, receive vehicle identification information for avehicle entering a parking facility, identify driver and vehicleinformation based on the vehicle identification information, identifyopen parking spaces based on the real-time parking facility camera data,determining attributes of the open parking spaces, score the openparking spaces based on the attributes, the vehicle information, and thedriver information, select a particular open parking space based on thescoring, determine navigation directions to the selected parking space,and outputting navigation directions and information for the selectedparking space, e.g., to a user device of the driver and/or to a vehicleinterface system, such as a vehicle navigation system. Otherfunctionalities of the program modules 42 are described further hereinsuch that the program modules 42 are not limited to the functionsdescribed above. Moreover, it is noted that some of the modules 42 canbe implemented within the infrastructure shown in FIGS. 1-3.

FIG. 4 depicts flowchart 400 depicting a method according to the presentinvention. The method(s) and associated process(es) are now discussed,over the course of the following paragraphs, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. The program(s) described herein areidentified based upon the application for which they are implemented ina specific embodiment of the invention. However, it should beappreciated that any particular program nomenclature herein is usedmerely for convenience, and thus the invention should not be limited touse solely in any specific application identified and/or implied by suchnomenclature.

In step 402, the Centerline Program 108, analyzes architectural drawingsto determine the real centerline of each wall within the architecturaldrawings. The Centerline Program 108 is able to determine the uniquefeatures of the architectural drawings which are then used to locate thecenterlines for all of the walls, both interior and exterior. FIG. 5depicted an illustration 500 of what an architectural drawing may looklike. In an Architectural layout, the walls are shown with the finishingmaterial on the exterior and the interior surfaces of the wall, buttypically do not show the frame members of the wall. The framing memberswhich are not created need to be identified and extracted to determinethe correct center of the wall without any finishing materials for theconversion of the drawings to the design software. The CenterlineProgram 108 created a plurality of data points to determine the width ofthe wall, the thickness of the finishing materials or sheathingmaterials which are applied to the wall (e.g. drywall, stucco, brick,shingles, etc.). From the total wall width in the architecturaldrawings, the Centerline Program 108 is able to determine the actualframing member location in all of the walls of the drawings. Thisinformation allows the Centerline Program 108 to determine the truewidth of the wall. By analyzing the walls and determined the true with,the centerline of the wall is easily calculated. With this information,the Centerline Program 108 is able to analyze the walls and determinethe location of any aperture (e.g. window, doorway, or the like) in thefloor plan. The aperture provided for the Centerline Program 108 to movefrom room to room and into and out of the building while determiningwhat is a wall and what is not a wall in the drawings. This assists withthe removal of surfaces which are not included in the identification ofthe walls as the program is able to methodically scan each line in thedrawings and determine the placement and purpose of that line and if itis related to a wall or not. The location of the apertures are typicallyknown as door and window. These are studied and the width of the openingis identified. In typical building construction techniques, somesheathing material along the edges of the opening are shown. It meansthe opening width shown in the drawing and the opening width required inthe structural framing material is not same. The correct opening widthincluding the tolerances are required to keep the true dimensions of thefloor intact.

In step 404, the Centerline Program 108, calculates the centerline ofall the identified walls. In the calculating the Centerline Program 108generates an image, depicted in FIG. 6, of the true centerlines for allof the walls 604 within the drawing. In the depicted illustration, doorsand windows 602 are also identified, as these features are used toassist the Centerline Program 108 with determining the walls fromunnecessary features of the drawings. This illustration shows the truedistances from the center of the frame members to all over walls and isnecessary for the calculation of the frame members. If this calculationis not performed, when calculating the number and dimensions of theframe members, all the dimensions would be incorrect by the thickness ofthe sheathing or finishing materials and would result in large amount ofwaste product being produced. In some embodiments, this illustration iscreated a separate layer from the architectural drawings. After markingthe centerline of the walls, the openings in the particular floor aremarked on the drawing. In one embodiment, the openings are marked as aclosed polygon line. The openings or apertures may be may be created ana separate layer specified by the software, this is typically the samelayer as the centerlines.

The unique way of marking the centerlines is to draw the centerlines ofthe walls in a first layout. The openings are also drawn in the similarapproach in a second layer. I then design software, the layers areconverted into a standard predefined layer. The unique way of importingthe centerlines of the walls to develop the wall layout in the designsoftware has several advantages over conventional method. One mainadvantage is the perfect replication of the floor plan and wallplacement to complete remove the potential for errors when transferringthe floor plan because of the miscalculation of finishing or sheathingmaterial being incorporated into the structural measurements.

In step 406, the Centerline Program 108 generates the drawing of thecenterline of all the walls depicted in FIG. 6. In some embodiments, thecompleted centerline layers for all floors in the building are copiedinto a specified folder location. The Centerline Program 108 is able tostart the importing of the layers and also add the relevant informationabout the particular floor. The centerline data may be associated with adatum for each floor in the building. Using this datum or locationrecognition software, the Centerline Program 108 is able to correctlyline up each floor plan if a 3D model is to be created from thedrawings, this would include also the structural floor depth and heightof the floor. In some embodiments, the Centerline Program 108 is able toimport other information that was preserved in various other layers ordata, such as details of the surfaces of the floor plan sheathingmaterial properties, finishing material properties, insulationmaterials, height of the walls, placement of various objects within thefloor plan (e.g. electrical, HVAC, mechanical), and the like.

In step 408, Centerline Program 108, generates the drawings in thedesign software of the true size of the wall framing members. After thecenterline layers are imported in the design software, the centerlinesof each walls are read by the design software and converted into thedesign software layer. The information related to the wall istransferred into the database of the design software, for example globalposition of the wall relative to a reference location or point, therelative position of wall with adjacent walls, and all other relatedinformation which can be identified by the software. After the data istransferred into the design software, the wall structural width isassigned, based on the previously collected data related to the wallthickness and the walls are created by the design software of the truewidth of the frame members. In some embodiments, the openings are alsocreated as well and are identified in the drawing. Based on the numberand type of layers which the features of the architectural drawings areexported into, the process may happen in parallel or in series based onthe design software limitations. As shown in FIG. 7, the floor layout isshown similar to FIG. 5, but this shows the true thickness of theframing members and the proper dimensions of each of the walls.

The present invention provides the advantage of being to optimize thesheathing requirements for a building to calculate as close to exact ofan answer of the quantity of sheathing and the alterations to thesheathing during install and also maximum the use and placement of thesheathing to reduce was and time lost

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

Present invention: should not be taken as an absolute indication thatthe subject matter described by the term “present invention” is coveredby either the claims as they are filed, or by the claims that mayeventually issue after patent prosecution; while the term “presentinvention” is used to help the reader to get a general feel for whichdisclosures herein that are believed as maybe being new, thisunderstanding, as indicated by use of the term “present invention,” istentative and provisional and subject to change over the course ofpatent prosecution as relevant information is developed and as theclaims are potentially amended.

The foregoing descriptions of various embodiments have been presentedonly for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intendedto be exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the formsdisclosed. Accordingly, many modifications and variations of the presentinvention are possible in light of the above teachings will be apparentto practitioners skilled in the art. Additionally, the above disclosureis not intended to limit the present invention. In the specification andclaims the term “comprising” shall be understood to have a broad meaningsimilar to the term “including” and will be understood to imply theinclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps butnot the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers orsteps. This definition also applies to variations on the term“comprising” such as “comprise” and “comprises”.

Although various representative embodiments of this invention have beendescribed above with a certain degree of particularity, those skilled inthe art could make numerous alterations to the disclosed embodimentswithout departing from the spirit or scope of the inventive subjectmatter set forth in the specification and claims. Joinder references(e.g. attached, adhered, joined) are to be construed broadly and mayinclude intermediate members between a connection of elements andrelative movement between elements. As such, joinder references do notnecessarily infer that two elements are directly connected and in fixedrelation to each other. Moreover, network connection references are tobe construed broadly and may include intermediate members or devicesbetween network connections of elements. As such, network connectionreferences do not necessarily infer that two elements are in directcommunication with each other. In some instances, in methodologiesdirectly or indirectly set forth herein, various steps and operationsare described in one possible order of operation, but those skilled inthe art will recognize that steps and operations may be rearranged,replaced or eliminated without necessarily departing from the spirit andscope of the present invention. It is intended that all matter containedin the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall beinterpreted as illustrative only and not limiting. Changes in detail orstructure may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventionas defined in the appended claims.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to theembodiments outlined above, various alternatives, modifications,variations, improvements and/or substantial equivalents, whether knownor that are or may be presently foreseen, may become apparent to thosehaving at least ordinary skill in the art. Listing the steps of a methodin a certain order does not constitute any limitation on the order ofthe steps of the method. Accordingly, the embodiments of the inventionset forth above are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Personsskilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form anddetail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Therefore, the invention is intended to embrace all known or earlierdeveloped alternatives, modifications, variations, improvements and/orsubstantial equivalents.

1. A computer method for calculating a centerline of frame members,comprising: receiving, by one or more processors, an architecturaldrawing of a floor plan; identifying, by one or more processors, wallsand apertures; removing, by one or more processors, all features of thefloor plan which are not walls and apertures; applying, by one or moreprocessors, a plurality of data points along the walls, wherein theplurality of data points defines a width of the wall; calculating, byone or more processors, a true width of the walls, wherein the truewidth is that of the framing members minus a thickness of finishingmaterials of the wall; generating, by one or more processors, a drawingof the centerline of the walls, wherein the apertures are identified;and rendering, by one or more processors, a drawing of the frame membersof the floor plan, wherein the apertures are incorporated into thedrawings.
 2. The computer method of claim 1, wherein the identifying ofthe walls and apertures, further comprising, removing, by one or moreprocessors, features which are not the walls and apertures. 3.(canceled)
 4. (canceled)
 5. The computer method of claim 1, wherein thecalculation of the true width of the walls, further comprising,extracting, by one or more processors, a thickness of sheathingmaterials.
 6. (canceled)
 7. The computer method of claim 1, furthercomprising, formatting, by one or more processors, the rendered drawingof the frame members from a first software language to a second softwarelanguage.
 8. A computer program product for locating the centerline of aframe member, computer program product comprising a computer readablestorage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, theprogram instructions executable by a computing device to cause thecomputing device to: program instructions to receive an architecturaldrawing of a floor plan; program instructions to identify walls andapertures of the drawing; program instructions to generate a first layerwherein the first layer is comprised of the identified walls; programinstructions to generate a second layer, wherein the second layer iscomprised of the identified apertures, wherein a first drawing is formedof the first layer and the second layer; program instructions tocalculate the true width of the walls, wherein the true width is that offraming members thickness; and program instructions to generate a seconddrawing of the walls, wherein the true thickness of the walls isidentified.
 9. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein theidentifying of the walls and apertures, further comprising, programinstructions to remove features which are not the walls and apertures10. (canceled)
 11. (canceled)
 12. The computer program product of claim8, wherein the calculation of the true width of the walls, furthercomprising, program instructions to extract a thickness of sheathingmaterials.
 13. (canceled)
 14. The computer program product of claim 8,further comprising, program instructions to format the calculatedcenterline drawing from a first software language to a second softwarelanguage.
 15. A system comprising: a CPU, a computer readable memory anda computer readable storage medium associated with a computing device;program instructions to receive an architectural drawing of a floorplan; program instructions to isolate walls and apertures; programinstructions to create a set of data points related to the walls,wherein the set of data points determine the width of the walls; programinstructions to generate a first layer and a second layer, wherein thefirst layer is comprised of a illustration of the walls and the secondlayer illustrates the apertures; program instructions to calculate thetrue width of the walls from the determined width of the walls, whereinthe true width is that of the framing members of the walls; programinstructions to render a third layer of the walls with the true width;and program instructions to convert the first, second, and third layersto a data set which is used to create a design of the walls.
 16. Thesystem of claim 15, wherein the identifying of the walls and apertures,further comprising, program instructions to remove features which arenot the walls and apertures
 17. (canceled)
 18. (canceled)
 19. The systemof claim 15, wherein the calculation of the true width of the walls,further comprising, program instructions to extract a thickness ofsheathing materials.
 20. (canceled)